Echo-doppler is commonly applied for non-invasive imaging of the heart. Commercially available systems provide the user with several imaging modalities: 2D two-dimensional) image of a single plane through the heart; m-mode image of a single line through the heart; doppler image of a flow in a specific location (pulsed doppler) or in any location along a line (continuous doppler); color-doppler image which consists of superimposing information of flow direction and velocity on 2D image; and tissue-doppler imaging which provides tissue deformation data on a 2D image. Three-dimensional imaging of the heart, which currently provides off-line reconstruction of the heart from sequentially acquired multi-plans of the heart may soon provide real-time imaging of the heart.
A main limitation in the clinical application of echo-doppler imaging is the image quality. While about 20-30% of the studies have good technical quality and do not require image enhancement, about 40-60% are acceptable studies which can be enhanced to get more accurate evaluation, and about 20-30% are technically poor and usually do not provide the required image quality.
This limitation is either overcome by using oesophageal imaging, rather than the standard trans-thoracic imaging, or by using echo-contrast media which are injected intravenously. These techniques significantly improve the image quality but are semi-invasive and can only be used in a limited number of studies.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system that will provide for image enhancement of trans-thoracic studies that can significantly improve the accuracy of echo-doppler imaging in the majority of studies which provide images that can be analyzed but need more time to optimize the image and to get the required clinical data.